


Breathing Again

by MistressLuna



Category: Iron Man - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Author refuses to spoil it in tags, Brief mention of Happy Hogan, Brief mention of James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Brief mention of Pepper Potts - Freeform, Brief mentions of other Avengers - Freeform, Gen, Secret inside, drabble?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 14:30:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8059945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressLuna/pseuds/MistressLuna
Summary: Tony Stark has a secret that he hasn't let anyone known... Anyone apart from Rhodey that is. And JARVIS. And his bots. But no one else. Maybe, just maybe... One day he'll open up to others.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Oky_Verlo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oky_Verlo/gifts).



> So this is my first time dabbing into the Marvel Universe myself so Tony might be OOC. I'm nervous as hell and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. This is also unbetaed and I'm not a native English speaker so there might be a lot of... Uh, mistakes or errors. Some of this may be inaccurate or vague. I apologise for that. And this is also for Oky Verlo because she beautifully painted my prompts.

Sometimes he felt like his legs were not his, like some parts of his body were missing things that were always meant to be there. He didn't feel like himself. He couldn't possibly be who he truly is though. He wouldn't stand a chance. He'd perish at the hands of the cruel and unrelenting world.

He hides. Some would call him a coward but some things are just better off hidden. Not even Pepper or Happy knew. Rhodey... Rhodey does. He can trust Rhodey to keep this secret.

The team is out for the night. Clint and Natasha left on a 'super secret mission' for Fury. Steve is out with some guy called Sam. Thor is out visiting Jane. Bruce finally decided to go visit Betty. He was alone.

.

"J, could you get a bath running?" Tony glances up at the ceiling and asks while running a hand through his hair.

"Already done." JARVIS replies immediately.

"You're the best J." Tony smiles genuinely and his eyes crinkle slightly as he does. He stretches and hears the familiar sound of cracking of his bones.

He stands up from his chair in the workshop and heads over to the elevator and takes it up to his penthouse. As soon as he gets inside his room he starts stripping carelessly letting clothing lie wherever it manages to land. In no time he is as naked as the day he was born.

He goes into his bathroom and glances at the filled bath full of warm water and immediately freezes. Afghanistan truly scarred him. Bodies of water were something he couldn't handle that well anymore. He would usually go for a quick shower but he can't hold on anymore. He doesn't feel like himself, he wants to feel like himself.

He takes in a sharp breath and steels himself. He dips one leg into the lukewarm water and slowly continues with the rest of his body as he slides into a sitting position. All too soon he is fully in the bathtub and the water is at his neck. He takes a couple of minutes to breathe deeply in and out to chase away any lingering panic.

Once he feels he is calm enough he feels the change come and take place. Gills appear on his neck, the spaces between his fingers on his hands become webbed and his legs become one big fish tail. He finally feels complete. He could stay like this for eternity and never leave; never go back to feeling incomplete, unwanted, fake.

He gazes at his tail. The scales are a very dark purple near his stomach and midnight blue to the bottom of his tail. He moves his tail and it sparkles in the bathroom light, almost like how stars would sparkle in the dark sky.

Maybe one day he'll tell the rest of the team. Happy and Pepper too. For now though he'll just enjoy being complete. Feeling like himself. Feeling like he can finally breathe after so, so long.


End file.
